PARIS: Kingsley Coman came back to haunt Paris St Germain again as he earned Bayern Munich a 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday.

Born in Paris and raised at PSG, Coman scored the only goal when Bayern beat the French side in the 2020 Champions League final and he was again the sole scorer as the German champions put one foot into the quarter-finals.

PSG, who have now lost five games in all competitions in 2023, held firm in the opening half but were eventually subdued and failed to fight back despite finishing the game with Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi all on the pitch.

Christophe Galtier’s side now face the prospect of a second elimination in a row in the last 16 on March 8 in Munich, although Mbappe’s high-octane display as a second-half substitute will have given them hope.

“We played really well in the first 25 minutes and the best team on the night won. It’s an important victory but there’s a second leg coming,” Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

The stadium came to the boil when Mbappe replaced Carlos Soler, raising hopes that the France forward would bail out PSG on his comeback from a two-week injury layoff.

Mbappe, and the entire stadium, thought he had equalised with eight minutes remaining when he turned in a Nuno Mendes cutback, but the goal was ruled out because the Portuguese full-back was just ahead of the last defender at the start of the move.

“We are at a disadvantage but we saw that we were capable of causing them problems and now we just need to make sure all our players are in good health and we will go there to try to qualify,” Mbappe said.

Eric Choupo-Moting had come close to doubling the tally for Bayern on two occasions, before Gianluigi Donnarumma fully stretched to parry Benjamin Pavard’s header in the 64th.

Mbappe had little to offer until the 74th, when he was denied from close range by Yann Sommer and had a goal ruled out for offside.

With Mbappe initially on the bench but Messi and Marco Verratti back in the starting line-up following injuries, the 16-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery, on the right wing of a 4-4-2 designed to strengthen the midfield, became the youngest player to start a Champions League knockout game.

PSG took the first punches but threatened on the break in an intense, yet uneventful, first half, and simply waited for some Neymar or Messi magic.

Bayern were far from impressive either, with their only clear chance coming in the 43rd minute when Joshua Kimmich’s 20-metre attempt was blocked by Donnarumma.

Nagelsmann took off Joao Cancelo at half-time and replaced him with Canadian international Alphonso Davies, a change that saw Coman move from the left flank to the right.

PSG also made a change, replacing Achraf Hakimi with France centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, but the biggest cheer of the night had been reserved for Mbappe when he came out to warm up during the break.

Bayern scored eight minutes into the second half when Coman latched on to a cross from Davies, giving the visitors a deserved advantage.

They held on, despite losing Pavard to a red card in stoppage time, to hand PSG their first defeat in the competition this season.

DIAZ GIVES MILAN SLENDER ADVANTAGE AGAINST TOTTENHAM

Meanwhile, AC Milan also took a step towards their first Champions League quarter-final appearance for 11 years as Brahim Diaz’s goal gave the Italians a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in their last-16 first leg at the San Siro.

The Spaniard headed in a rebound in the seventh minute after a superb double save by Tottenham’s second-choice keeper Fraser Forster and the seven-time winners kept the Londoners at bay.

Spurs, weakened by injuries and suspensions, responded positively in the first half to dominate possession but were unable to seriously worry the hosts.

Milan should then have increased their advantage after the break with substitute Charles De Ketelaere and defender Malick Thiaw both wasting glorious headed chances.

Tottenham sent on Brazil forward Richarlison for the last 20 minutes and, while they were unable to avoid a first-ever defeat by Milan, they will head home still hopeful of turning the tie around and reaching the last eight.

“We could have scored two more goals, but the game was hard-fought, they caused us problems,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said to Mediaset.

“It’s only the first leg, the second will be even harder.”

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2023